How are butterflies in the Alps responding to rising temperatures?
How are butterflies in the Alps responding to rising temperatures? A University of Würzburg study shows that species with a poor capacity to regulate their body temperature are particularly likely to shift to higher elevations.
Climate change presents animals and plants with a fundamental challenge: what can they do when their established habitats become increasingly warm? They can adapt to the changing conditions – or move to areas where the climate remains suitable for them.
Among butterflies in the German Alps, the second response appears to play a particularly important role. This is the finding of a new study by Dr Esme Ashe-Jepson from the Chair of Global Change Ecology at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU). Her results have now been published in the journal Communications Biology.
Read More: University of Würzburg
Photo Credit: terski via Pixabay
